Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal was forced to cut short his stint with English County Essex following an incident of attempted acid attack. The left-handed batsman, his wife, and their one-year-old son were targeted by a group of acid attackers while they were leaving a restaurant in London.
A Bangladesh Cricket Board official quoted, “We suspect they were chased because Tamim’s wife wears a hijab (Islamic head covering). Hopefully, we’ll know the details once he returns from England today.”
Tamim went on to deny that it was an attempted hate crime. He wrote on his Facebook page, “I want all my fans and well-wishers to know that I cut short my season with Essex to come back home early for personal reasons. Some media reported that we were the target of attempted hate crime,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “This is really not true. England is one my of favorite places to play cricket and Essex have been entirely gracious even though I had to leave early. I thank all my fans and well-wishers for their concern and messages and look forward to going back to England for future matches.”
https://www.facebook.com/TamimOfficial/posts/1614767041868467
Essex County Cricket Club confirmed his early departure saying, “Essex County Cricket Club can confirm that overseas player Tamim Iqbal has left the club with immediate effect due to personal reasons. We wish him all the best, and it would be appreciated if Tamim’s privacy is respected during this time.”
Tamim Iqbal had a fantastic Champions Trophy last month in England scoring 293 runs at an average of 73 and was instrumental in taking Bangladesh to semi-finals.
The Club can confirm Tamim Iqbal has departed with immediate effect due to personal reasons. https://t.co/M9sLkmJ5pF pic.twitter.com/SxFZmGFzAN
— Essex Cricket (@EssexCricket) July 11, 2017
– by Atharva Apte
